Border Patrol Agents Nab Two Calexico Men Smuggling Cocaine

CALEXICO – Tuesday, El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents assigned to the Calexico Station arrested two Calexico residents attempting to smuggle more than 28 pounds of cocaine stuffed into a duffle bag.

The incident occurred at approximately 10 p.m., when Border Patrol agents operating a Remote Video Surveillance System, observed a man carrying a duffle bag north of the International Boundary Fence.

The man was observed waving toward a vehicle that had stopped near the intersection of Menville Road and Highway 98. Agents observed the man place the duffle bag into the trunk and enter the vehicle before it drove off.

Border Patrol agents in the area stopped the vehicle. After the driver consented to a search of the vehicle, agents located the duffle bag in the trunk containing six wrapped packages of cocaine. The two men, both U.S. citizens, were arrested.

The cocaine yielded a total weight of 28.4 pounds with an estimated street value of about $369,000.

The men, narcotics, and vehicle were turned over to agents with Homeland Security Investigations.

Last fiscal year, El Centro Sector seized more than 148 pounds of cocaine.